The sea breeze drifted lazily across the waves, and East Blue stretched out without end.
Kairos D. Vale drifted across the surface as usual.
His life of wandering had begun again.
Lying in his little boat, he held an unfolded sea chart in one hand.
The sunlight was warm, but not harsh.
"Besides relying on cards, I should find other ways to get stronger."
Kairos took a sip of fresh water and muttered to himself.
"…The best option would be learning Haki."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
He had already made up his mind.
Haki was his top priority.
Conqueror's Haki was too special and far too hard to learn on purpose.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki were much more practical. Not only did Armament directly boost both offense and defense, Observation, when pushed to its peak, could even give the user brief glimpses of the future.
Those two alone were already tremendous assets in battle.
"I'll still need someone to teach me, though."
Kairos let out a small sigh and shook his head.
None of the character cards he currently possessed gave him access to Haki.
If he wanted to learn it, he would need a real teacher.
But who?
Kairos thought it over.
Onigumo?
Not ideal.
The two of them didn't really have that kind of relationship.
Kairos had no interest in owing Onigumo a favor. Favors always had to be repaid sooner or later.
"Better to wait."
He shook his head.
For now, he set the matter of Haki aside.
There was still another way to improve his strength quickly and effectively.
A weapon.
Kairos' eyes sharpened as he sat up and spread the sea chart across his lap.
"Weapons… weapons…"
He murmured under his breath while sliding a finger across the map.
Then suddenly—
his finger stopped.
"This is the place."
A bright light appeared in his eyes.
The spot beneath his fingertip was marked with three characters.
Loguetown.
…
The sun sank, the moon rose, and the gray hush of evening settled over the town of beginnings and endings.
Loguetown.
Because of the Pirate King, the place carried an air of almost mythic mystery.
It was Gol D. Roger's hometown.
And it was also the place where his life came to an end.
That was why people called it the Town of the Beginning and the End.
It was larger than an ordinary village, more prosperous too, and the people here lived differently. Night came later to Loguetown than it did to a place like Cocoyasi Village.
So even after dark, the town remained lively.
People still moved through the streets, busy with their own lives.
Kairos walked through the crowd at an unhurried pace, blending naturally into the flow of people around him.
"Now where was it again…"
He looked from side to side, scanning the shops lining the street.
He had used Qi to propel his boat through the night and arrived in Loguetown just after dark on the second day.
Unfortunately…
he couldn't quite remember where Ipponmatsu's sword shop was.
No helping it.
He'd just have to search slowly.
Loguetown wasn't that big. Half a day would probably be enough.
With that thought, Kairos tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.
The stars were already out in full.
"Forget it. I'll eat first and look again tomorrow."
He wasn't in any hurry.
And when it was time to eat, starving himself was never an option.
Just ahead, there happened to be a grilled eel restaurant.
Perfect.
Kairos felt his appetite stir and stepped toward the entrance.
Then—
from the far end of the street, an angry, shrill, almost ridiculous voice suddenly rang out.
"Huh?! Who the hell are you calling big nose?!"
"What, big nose bothers you? Big nose, big nose."
"I'll kill you!"
"Captain Buggy, calm down!"
The shouts echoed from the other side of the street.
The words themselves were vicious, but Kairos' expression turned strange.
Big nose…
Buggy?
That was practically a card gift-wrapped and delivered to him.
Food could wait.
A card that could make him stronger absolutely could not.
Within a single second, Kairos had fully convinced himself and quickened his pace toward the commotion.
At the far end of the street, it wasn't just Buggy and his crew gathered there.
Another pirate crew was facing them off.
The man at their front was tall and lean, wearing square glasses. His gaze was calm, cold, and utterly detached.
The Black Cat Pirates.
Conflicts between pirate crews were common—so common that sometimes a single careless insult was enough to start a bloodbath.
And from the look of things, someone in the Black Cat Pirates had just poked directly at Buggy's biggest sore spot.
"You want to die? Fine. I'll oblige."
Captain Kuro stared at the furious Buggy, cold killing intent flashing through his eyes.
He raised a hand and pushed up his glasses with the heel of his palm.
The next moment—
Shhk!
The air split sharply as ten gleaming claws sprang from his fingertips.
Kuro moved soundlessly, his feet barely touching the ground. His body vanished as though he had never been there at all.
It was his signature technique—
Silent Step.
"Hm?"
Buggy let out a puzzled sound.
Shhk!
Cold light flashed.
The sharp ten-claw strike swept through him.
Buggy's body split apart in every direction.
Behind him, Kuro slowly reappeared.
He adjusted his glasses again with the heel of his palm, his tone full of contempt.
"Some clown escaped from a circus somewhere, and he dares bark in front of the Black Cat Pirates?"
"As expected of Captain Kuro! One move and he already—"
Jango and the others were just about to cheer when their expressions froze.
The Buggy they had sliced into nearly ten separate pieces…
was laughing at them.
"I ate the Chop-Chop Fruit! Blades can't hurt me!"
His scattered body parts floated in the air as he laughed wildly, arrogant and triumphant.
"Captain Buggy is amazing!"
Mohji couldn't help shouting in excitement.
"Tch."
Kuro snorted, his expression turning serious.
The clash between the Black Cat Pirates and the Buggy Pirates was about to erupt at any second.
And right then—
a slightly playful voice rang out in everyone's ears.
"How could you leave me out of something as fun as a fight?"
Kairos approached with a faint smile, sword in hand.
The blade was over five feet long, slender and elegant, with a blue tassel hanging from the hilt.
Its name was Monohoshizao.
The Sasaki Kojiro Card—
had already been activated.
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